You are here

Powerful Food Pairings That Fight for Your Health

Combo 5 - Apples and Apple Skin

Fights: Asthma, cancer, diabetes, heart disease

A (whole) apple a day is one of nature’s best prescriptions, and a perfect example of synergy within a single food. Apples are a great source of polyphenols, flavonoids, vitamin C, fiber, and potassium; numerous population studies have linked eating apples with a reduced risk of some cancers, cardiovascular disease, asthma, and diabetes.

In lab studies, researchers at Cornell University found that eating apple slush with skin worked five times better to prevent the oxidation of free radicals than apple slush alone. “The phenolic phytochemicals in apple peel account for the majority of the antioxidant and anti-proliferating activity in apples,” Magee says.